


Spiral of Pain

by TS878



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:40:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28662600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TS878/pseuds/TS878
Summary: After Danzo’s failed attempt at destroying the Uchiha clan, Itachi is forced to decide between his clan or village. Can Itachi prevent the oncoming slaughter and protect the ones he loves, or will everything he cares about crumble into ruins? AU
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Izumi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

The Third Shinobi World War hadn’t been kind to Konohagakure, there was damage throughout the entire Land of Fire, and an uncountable number of casualties. Trying to prepare his son for a life as a shinobi, Fugaku had only one idea.

Itachi and his father had left the village only a day ago, but to Itachi it had felt like forever. Since he had never been outside the village farther than a half of days travel, he was feeling homesick. Still unsure of where they were going, Itachi didn’t even know how long he would be gone. At this point they were hiking up a hill, although to young four-year old Itachi it felt like a mountain. The sun was beginning to set, and yet his father hadn’t even mentioned turning in for the night. The air was smoky, almost as if someone had been having a campfire recently. Arriving at the top of the hill Fugaku stopped, standing next to his father, and looking out towards the nearby field Itachi found the source of the smoke. Itachi was shocked at the display of violence that was before his eyes, buildings were collapsed, others were still on fire, yet to be put out by the shinobi who were trying to stop the spread of fire, and rescue any survivors. From the looks of it the once small town was now nonexistent. About 100 feet or so from the town ANBU had begun gather corpses into a pile from the previous battle, they were preparing them for a ‘shinobi’s burial’, a mass cremation. There were bodies of friends and foes, shinobi and civilians, nobody was spared from the slaughter. Not able to tolerate the awful smell of bile and day-old corpses anymore Itachi ran over to a nearby bush and vomited.

Wiping off his mouth with the backside of his hand he stood up, “Father, what happened?”

Looking down at his son, he hated seeing him like this but it was a necessity to prevent the dreaded curse of hatred from manifesting in his son, “Some Iwa shinobi infiltrated the Land of Fire to try and lay siege to our town and cities. They were met with a swift and hard resistance; this was the result.”

Looking up he didn’t see his father, he saw the cold eyes of a man who had seen a lot in his life, and wasn’t affected by violent display, such as this, anymore. Turning around Fugaku began heading down the mountain, “Come son, let’s find a place to rest for the night.” Taking one last glance at the once was battle field Itachi turned and went with his father.

* * *

It had been a few days since Itachi had went on that trip with his father, and It was a couple hours into the night, most of the kids were in their beds sleeping, but not young Itachi, he lied awake thinking about his encounter earlier this week.

Itachi lied there thinking to himself, _‘Why did people choose to participate in violence of this level? Is there a purpose to this foolishness? There has to be, or so many people wouldn’t be sacrificing themselves.’_

Getting out of bed his little feet hit the floor, walking over to his bedroom door he slowly opened it, listening to the old door squeak under its weight. Walking down the stairs the only noise in the house, was the sound of little feet on a hardwood floor. It wasn’t extremely late, and it wasn’t uncommon for his father to be out working until two or three in the morning, so only his mother was home. Walking into the common room where his mother was sitting, reading a book he sat beside her.

Tugging on her shirt sleeve, “Mother, why?”

Looking down into her son’s-tired eyes, “Why what honey?” It wasn’t unusual for him to ask a question without fully explaining it, at the young age of four he still didn’t fully understand that people generally weren’t focused on the same thoughts as him.

Tears forming in his eyes, “Why do so many people need to suffer? Is there a point to this violence?”

A mother always tries to anticipate her child’s thoughts, and questions, but she hadn’t even contemplated this. Remembering that Fugaku had taken their son to see what he referred to as ‘the effects of war’, she figured this was what was keeping her son up this night. Thinking it over for a moment, there wasn’t a suitable answer that she could give him. Deciding upon an approach and pulling him over onto her lap, “Think of someone who means the world to you, someone who you would do anything for.”

Sniffling his nose, and deciding to think of his own mother, “Like you mother?”

This reply made Mikoto smile, she was happy to see that her son loved her. Sometimes it was difficult to know what was going on inside her son’s mind, and she was glad to know that he thought of her, “Now, what would you do if this person was in danger? You would try to help them, right?” Waiting for a nod from her son. “And what if the danger was another person who was trying to cause them harm, would you still want to help them?”

Confusion filled his face, “Why would this person want to harm you mother?”

“Sometimes people get hurt, I’m not talking about outward pain, but the pain you feel inside when you lose something dear to you. And there is not always somebody to blame, but for whatever reason when people get hurt, they tend to want to make others feel the same pain. This kind of behavior leads to fights, and more pain, which in turn leads to a spiral of pain that can’t be fixed with the current way of thinking, understand?”

Tilting his head to the side, “Kinda, but why don’t we stop thinking that way?”

“Well, it doesn’t work that....” Stopping mid-sentence, she thought for a moment, “I don’t know the answer to that sweetie.”

The young Uchiha was surprised that his mother didn’t know the answer, after all she knew everything. As a huge grin grew on his face, “Then I'll be the one who stops this way of thinking.”

Chuckling at her son’s enthusiasm, “I have no doubts in that.” scooting him off her lap and hugging him, “You’re going to need lots of sleep though, if you want to accomplish those dreams. Besides, I think I hear your father and you know how these late-night meetings make him grouchy.” she said changing from hugging her son to tickling him.

Escaping from his mother's ‘attack’ he headed towards the steps, “Goodnight mommy, I love you.”

“Goodnight Itachi.”

Looking out of his window he whispered to himself, “I’m going to be the one who puts an end to this spiral of pain.”

* * *

_ 1 year later _

The past year had been busy for Itachi, after that night he borrowed a few books from his father regarding the topics of basic; taijutsu, ninjustsu, and his clan’s kekkei genkai, the sharingan. The next couple of months he spent all his spare time learning everything he could from these books, occasionally going to his father with a few questions. By this point the war had ended and things were beginning to go back to normal, a new ‘normal’. Itachi had been planning for a while to start physically training once it became spring, and since today was the first day of spring, he was downstairs, packing a lunch.

Placing his lunch into a bag with his books he went to leave the house, Mikoto was sitting near the door drinking tea, since she herself had only just gotten up. About five months ago Itachi found out that his mother was pregnant, and it was really starting to show. She didn’t have as much mobility as she did before, and her stomach had begun to show. It was hard for Itachi to believe that in only a few moths a baby could be formed from hardly anything at all. 

Peering above the book she was reading, seeing her son’s bag, and figuring that he was planning on heading out she asked, “Where are you going this early?”

Turing to face his mother, “I’m heading out to practice some katas.”

Smiling at her son’s eagerness, he hadn’t even enrolled in the academy yet, and he was already trying to practice his form, “Just stay safe dear, and be home for dinner, we’re having Kushina over tonight.”

Itachi enjoyed the company of Kushina, she always kind to him and with her being over at their house so often she was almost like a second mother to him. He had no doubts that if he had any questions, he could come to her, and she would help him.

Walking outside he felt the crisp breeze blow past him, it was a bit chilly out but Itachi didn’t mind, he preferred it over hot summer days in Konohagakure. Heading towards a training field located on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. The streets were crowded today, not what he was used to, during the war no matter where he went the streets were dead, between the shinobi who were out fighting the war to the citizens who were too afraid to leave their houses barely anyone was ever out on the streets. Even if he’s not used to it, this new change was a welcome one because it meant that Konohagakure was finally at peace. Arriving at the training field, it appeared empty. It was basically just an empty field surrounded by some trees, there were a few craters, and a couple of knocked down trees, but mostly it was bland, nothing special. Heading in, he walked over to a nearby tree, and sat down his pack.

Coming from somewhere in the trees, “Hmmmm, I haven’t seen you around here before.”

Shocked by the sudden new voice, Itachi looked around, but didn’t see anyone. “I’m up here,” Jumping down from the tree a girl, who was around his age, stumbled in front of him. A little bit of blood filled her cheeks, “I’m still working on the landing.” The new girl walked around Itachi examining him. “Yep, definitely new.” Sticking out her hand, “I’m Izumi” she smiled.

Itachi hadn’t ever seen her before, but from the looks of her clothing she was an Uchiha. Hesitating for a moment, Itachi took her hand and shook it. Letting go of her hand he responded coldly with, “Itachi”

“Wait” the newly named Izumi squinted her eyes, “You’re Fugaku’s son.”

Already done with the conversation Itachi nodded, and opened one of the books.

“It must be sooo cool to have a father whose held in such high regards,” she sighed. Looking over his shoulder at the page he’s reading, “Basics of.... geekoo booei.” Tilting her head to the side, “What’s that?”

“Jiko bōei, is a taijutsu style that’s been used for ages as a means to self-defense, instead of initiating the fight.”

Furrowing her brow, “But don’t Uchiha’s usually practice Aitorakkingu style?” Doing her best to imitate a punch.

A bit surprised by her knowledge on the subject, “Yeah, but after reading through a couple different styles I felt this one suited me better. Besides, if every Uchiha practiced a single style wouldn’t that make us a bit predictable in battle?”

Accepting his answer, she went over to a stump a little way away and sat down. Looking over at her, “What are you doing now?”

“I want to watch, besides it’s not like this is your personal training field or anything.”

Rolling his eyes and turning back to his book, Itachi was a bit nervous since he had never even preformed these katas before, let alone with an audience. Reviewing the instructions, and stances once more Itachi placed his feet about shoulder length apart, and began to perform the first kata. He repeated this kata until he felt comfortable with it, even though it was just a basic kata he needed to be sure that he started off with a strong foundation, or else everything past that would be performed poor as well.

A couple hours pass by with Itachi attempting to perform the katas, with varying levels of success. Looking over at Izumi he noticed that she had found something better to pay attention to, a butterfly that was collecting some nectar out of a flower. Deciding that now was as good of time as any for lunch he walked back over to his bag, sat down against the tree, and grabbed a wrap out of his bag. It was a simple tortilla, spread with some hummus, it had some roasted chicken and vegetables on it, nothing too extraordinary.

Noticing that the lack of noise had once again gotten Izumi’s attention he decided to offer her something to eat, “Would you like half? He asked as he held up half a wrap to her.

Not wanting to take half, but forgetting to pack a lunch for herself she reluctantly agreed with a nod. Grabbing the half of wrap, “Thank you”, she said as she sat across from him. Taking a bite out of it, “This is delicious, who made this?”

Shocked that she enjoyed it, “I did, but it’s not difficult as long as you have the right ingredients.”

They finished their meal in relative silence, afterward Izumi thanked Itachi once more before leaving to head back home. Itachi spent the remainder of the day practicing a few of the basic katas, and forming basic seals with his hands. When it got to be time to head home Itachi pack his books back into his bag, and headed towards his house.

**A/N: Excluding this chapter, and a portion of the next one I am changing the age of characters when certain events happen. I’ve never liked that students were being released from the academy at age 12, and I’ll be changing that to closer to 15 or so, with exceptions of characters who graduated early, they will still graduate early, but closer to the age range of 10-12. Also, in this fic Itachi isn’t going to be some ninja god who can defeat any foe, but he will still be a prodigy.**


	2. The Nine-tails Attack

**_The Nine-tails Attack_ **

_ 3 months Later _

Itachi had made it a habit to meditate, after returning home from the training field every day, and that was exactly what he was doing right now. The last two months had been hectic in his house, with the addition of a new family member, but even with the added chaos, Itachi enjoyed his new brother, Saskue. When his mother had first brought him home Itachi wasn’t sure how to feel, but after a while he began to enjoy the sight of his younger brother. After Saskue’s birth Kushina began to visit more frequently, and she would always ask Mikoto the weirdest questions about Saskue’s birth. This confused Itachi because from what he could tell Kushina wasn’t expecting a child any time soon, but maybe she was prepping for if she ever decided to have a child.

Finished with his meditation session, he went down stairs to switch out one of the books he was borrowing from his father. When he reached the base of the stairs, he seen his mother grabbing her bag, and placing the strap over her shoulder.

Placing Saskue into his crib Mikoto looked over at Itachi, “I’m heading to the market to pick up a few ingredients for dinner, could you look after your brother until I get back?” After receiving a nod from her eldest son, “Thank you, he’s asleep right now so he shouldn’t give you any trouble, but if you need something you can always go to Akura’s house, she’ll be able to help you.” With one last smile to her precious boys, Mikoto left the house.

Itachi sat beside Saskue, opening the book he had in his hands, yes, he had already read it once, but it wouldn’t hurt to begin reading it through a second time while he waited for his mother to return. The book he was reading was about different clan’s kekkei genkai, but he wasn’t interested in most of them, only the one that he might develop in the future, the Sharingan. The book contained first-hand accounts of how differing members of the clan had gotten their Sharingan, and what the author believed to be the biological cause. The author theorized that when an Uchiha is exposed to a traumatic enough event their brain releases a special chakra, which mixes with the adrenaline that would’ve been released earlier during the event. This usually causes temporary blindness for the Uchiha, before developing the Sharingan.

The sun was beginning to set, and it was starting to get dark out. Looking down at Saskue, Itachi noticed that he began to stir, in his sleep. Opening his eyes, Saskue began to wail, this was unusual since he was normally a quite baby. Standing up to try and get Saskue back to sleep, Itachi nearly fell over due to the ground violently shaking, followed by a loud explosion. Running over to the door Itachi looked outside only to see Konohagakure in flames. Were they under attack? Who was attacking them? It had to be Kumogakure, since Iwagakure was still far too weak after their loss from Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage. Closing the door Itachi didn’t know what to do, he could stay put, but their current position didn’t offer much protection, and if any Kumo Shinobi were to invade he wouldn’t stand a chance. The only other option he had would be to leave, and group up with some of the police force. However, this would mean that he had to leave the house and enter an unknown situation, this would also mean that if his mother was to return, she wouldn’t know where they went. Deciding that staying on the move would be his best bet, and that if Kumo shinobi had invaded then Mikoto might be pinned down and unable to make her way over to them, he decided that leaving was the best option.

Grabbing his bag, he put some canned food into it along with a small med kit that they kept in their kitchen for emergencies. Heading into his father’s office he looked throughout the drawers, unable to find the item he was looking for he prepared to leave, but before leaving, he noticed a small, black chest in the corner of the office. Walking over to the chest Itachi fumbled around with the handles a bit before opening it, inside was the exact object he was looking for. It was full of shuriken, and kunai, of all shapes and sizes, grabbing a kunai Itachi left the office. The cold steel felt unfamiliar in in his hands, he had held a kunai before, but it was only with his father, and on rare occasions. Placing Saskue into a baby carrying harness, Itachi took one last look at his home, and left.

* * *

Itachi had been walking for a little while, he could’ve easily crossed more distance, but he was trying to keep to the shadows, and edges of buildings. He had yet to see any more evidence of an attack, other than the frequent quakes, and smoke-filled air. Just as he hadn’t seen any enemy shinobi yet, he hadn’t seen any friendly shinobi either, it was almost as if they were hiding, or preoccupied. It didn’t matter though, Itachi wasn’t far from Konohagakure’s Police station, and once he arrived there, he would have at least a few answers to his questions. Itachi was planning on cutting through a wooded area up ahead, after all isn’t that where the hidden leaf is supposed to excel? Itachi knew this forest well, since these trees led to the training field he used, and since he had made a habit of trying a new path every week, he was very familiar with them. Hearing a noise Itachi stopped in his tracks, listening he found that the noise was coming from the left of them. Debating what he should do, since the noise could be a friend or foe, Itachi decided to get a bit closer to try and determine what was making the noise. Trying his best to sneak close without alarming them, he found out what the noise was. It was a girl crying, she didn’t appear to be injured, she had a few cuts and scrapes, but other than that she appeared unscathed. Taking a moment to fully examine the situation Itachi realized that this she was the same girl that he had met a few months ago, in the training field not far from here.

Approaching Izumi slowly from the side, “It’s not safe to stay here alone, you should come with us.”

Looking over her shoulder at him, with tears in her eyes she tilted her head, “Itachi?” He was the last person she thought she’d see out here, what was he doing out here?

He answered her question with a nod, “We’re on our way to the police headquarter, it’s fortified, and should be capable of surviving attacks from enemy Shinobi. We’ll be safer there.”

This confused Izumi, why was he talking about enemy shinobi? And would the headquarters be capable of surviving an attack from that monster? “Enemy shinobi? We’re not under attack from any other village.”

This shocked him, if it wasn’t a village that was attacking them then what was causing the fires, and quakes? “Whose attacking us then?” Could it be an insurrection, was Konohagakure at war with its own people?

Looking down at the ground, “Not who, what. It’s a beast as large as a mountain, and the swing from its tails take out a building.”

“Tails?” he questioned, what kind of beast could be capable of this level of destruction? Remembering back to one of the books he read, it had mentioned something briefly about what the author referred to as ‘tailed beasts’. It was only a brief mention to show the strength of the Mangekō Sharigan’s genjustsu, but why would there be a tailed beast in Konohagakure? “Either way, we’re sitting ducks here, and we need to keep moving, are you coming?” Offering her a hand.

Taking his hand, she stood up, “Thank you,” it was at that moment that she noticed Saskue sleeping on Itachi’s back. Wiping the tears from her eyes she motioned towards Saskue, “Can I hold him?” trying her best at puppy dog eyes.

Realizing that this was exactly what he needed to ensure her corporation, “You can hold him once we make it to the police headquarters, as long as you don’t make him start crying.”

This caused a smile to form on her lips, “then what are we waiting for?” Izumi proceeded to march in the direction she assumed the headquarters was.

Sighing and placing his hand on his head, “It’s the other direction.”

Switching the direction she was going, “I knew that!”

* * *

They were nearing the headquarter, about a half a mile back the air began to get extremely smoky, due to the burning buildings nearby. Konohagakure’s streets were quiet, Itachi didn’t know what to expect, but he wasn’t expecting it to be this quiet, it was eerie. Arriving at their destination, Itachi pushed open the door, heading inside he surveyed the room. It was smaller than what he remembered, and the last time he was here it was a lot less messy, but the mess was probably a result of the quakes. The mess wasn’t even the surprising part, what really concerned Itachi was the fact that there wasn’t anyone else in the building. This was odd because the police headquarters was one of a few locations around Konohagakure that civilians were supposed to occupy in the off chance that they were invaded by another hidden village. Deciding to search for any indication of where they should go next Itachi went into the building, allowing Izumi in before shutting the door behind them. Itachi had been here a few times with his father, so he was able to navigate the building well. Going into one of the conference rooms he placed his bag on the table.

Tugging on Itachi’s sleeve, Izumi got his attention, “You said I could hold him once we got here.”

Rolling his eyes, “If he starts to cry you have to hand him back over.” Itachi did like the idea of handing over his little brother to a stranger, but he would be close if anything happened, and he didn’t have the time to argue over the issue, he needed to decide what their next move was going to be.

Passing him over to Izumi, she took him carefully, looking down at his face “He’s so adorable.”. Little Saskue didn’t like leaving his brother’s arms, causing him to wail loudly. Izumi rocked him gently, trying to hush him, but it wasn’t working.

Taking Saskue back, “You’re moving too much, you need to be nice and slow.” Rocking him slowly, this seemed to satisfy Saskue, and stopped his crying.

It frustrated Izumi that Saskue preferred Itachi’s company over hers, “I was rocking him perfectly fine, the only reason you were able to quite him is because he’s familiar with you.” Sitting down in one of the nearby chairs, she read some of the ‘boring papers laying on the table.

Hearing the front door open, Itachi placed Saskue onto the table. Looking over at him Izumi began to ask “What are you…” before being cut off by him motioning for her to be quiet. Walking over to his bag on the table he grabbed out the kunai he had brought with them. Holding it in a reverse grip, Itachi still wasn’t convinced that the tailed beast wasn’t released by an enemy village, who else would have a purpose of destroying Konohagakure. Peeking into the hallway, he didn’t see anything, satisfied with this sight he walked out. Walking over to a right turn he placed his back flat against the wall, and waited for someone to walk by. It didn’t take long before heard footsteps nearing their location. Bending at the knees a little, Itachi prepared to attack the next person who walk around this corner. The steady noise of the person’s feet hitting the ground grew louder as they got closer until he could see their shadow on the wall in front of him. Mentally counting to three Itachi jumped out at the stranger, slashing at their mid-section. His attack would have hit his opponent, if only they hadn’t grabbed his wrist.

Looking up to see the face of his attacker he was preparing for the worst, he wasn’t expecting to see such a familiar face, “Mother?”

Looking down at the grime covered face of her son Mikoto smiled, “Itachi,” giving her son a hug, causing him to drop the kunai, “I’m so happy I found you.” Releasing him, she looked over her boy, “Are you hurt?”

Relived at the sight of his mother, “I’m alright, me and Saskue made it here before anything happened.”

Mikito’s eyes grew huge, surprised because her other son had slipped her mind, “Saskue!? Where is he?”

Walking back into the conference room, “He’s right in here” Looking over at his brother, sleeping so peacefully, no worries in the world.

Happy to see her youngest son unharmed Mikoto didn’t even notice the fourth person in the room, until Itachi introduced her, “This is Izumi, we stumbled upon her on our way here, and she agreed to tag along.”

Looking over at the younger girl, “So this is who I have to thank for keeping my precious boys unharmed.”

This caused her to giggle, “If it wasn’t for your son, I would probably still be in the woods crying.” Looking over at him, she smiled, “He’s the real hero of the day.”

This caused Itachi to look away, “We were trying to figure out our next destination.”

Pretending to think for a moment, “We should probably head home, I’m sure that those quakes caused quite the mess.” Changing over to a more serious tone, “The attack is over, and I’m sure that everyone could use a good night’s rest, it’s been a long day.”

By the time they had left the police headquarters most of the fires had been put out, and the smoke was beginning to dissipate. People had also once again begun to fill the streets, examining the damage caused by Kyubi, the demon fox.

* * *

**I’m sorry if it seems like I rushed through these first two chapters, its because I want Itachi to be older before he really begins being a shinobi, an I also want him to only be five years older than Saskue. So I needed to get certain events out of the way such as the Kyubi’s attack.**


End file.
